Sleeping Beauty
by lirpa
Summary: For a contest. What would Sleeping Beauty be like with Gundam characters in the starring roles?


Sleeping Beauty (1/1)  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.  
  
Dedication: To my sister, who encouraged me to try, despite my misgivings.  
  
Distribution: If you want it, ask.  
  
A.N: This is a new take on a very old tale, so old in fact it might be called a fairy tale. I'm sure that everyone knows it well. Ans as everyone knows it well. And as everyone knows all fairy tales start with once upon a time so...  
  
Sleeping Beauty (1/1) by lirpa  
  
Once upon a time there was born a beautiful prince to the King and Queen of a prosperous and powerful country. The Royal couple had been trying for a long time now to conceive a child so the arrival of this Prince of the realm was indeed a very happy occasion. The whole nation celebrated for weeks.  
  
During these celebrations the King and Queen held a great party to celebrate the christening of their son. Everyone important in the realm was invited, Dignitaries from all over the realm attended, bringing gifts for the infant and his happy parents.  
  
Only one person was not invited, and she took it as a personal attack upon her reputation. So she plotted her revenge.  
  
At the party the three faery godparents stepped forward to present him with their gifts, and unusual gifts they were.  
  
"I present to you a beauty of features that will be matched only by the beauty of your soul," gentle Quatre intoned.  
  
"And I present you with a sense of humour in the most despairing of situations," the mischievous Duo bubbled.  
  
Finally, the third, and final, faery godparent stepped forward to deliver his gift. "I present you with the ability to understand what you need to do in any situation, a gift to help you when you are burdened with the affairs if an entire nation," the solemn Trowa declared. A gasp filtered through the hall.  
  
The King and Queen turned to see Relena, another faery, with darker inclinations. "And I present you with a destiny, young Prince. On your sixteenth will cut your finger on the blade of a sword and die."  
  
The screams if outraged nobles filled the great room, but above the Queen's wails of despair could be heard.  
  
The King turned to the three faery godparents. "Can you not undo this curse.?"  
  
Quatre looked sad. "no, our gifts have already been given, there is nothing we can do."  
  
"Unless," Duo's smile turned positively wicked.  
  
"Unless what?" the King demanded, for he did not wish his son to die on his sixteenth birthday, when he had just reached his manhood.  
  
"Unless another faery gives a gift to counter this curse given by the witch Relena."  
"Do you know of such a one?" the King demanded, while the Queen continued to sob, clutching her son to her heart.  
  
"Maybe," Duo replied. "But he has never been the most giving type."  
  
"Anything he wants," the King declared, "shall be his, if only he can undo this curse."  
  
And so the three faery godparents gathered together and summoned forth a fourth, one with a face like stone, so impassionate it was.  
  
They spoke among themselves for several moments before the fourth faery made his way to the dais, and the infant prince.  
  
"I cannot completely undo the curse, I do not have the power for that," the faery, Heero, told the King. "I can, however, change the curse so the child will not die."  
  
He took a deep breath and began. "I present to you a gift, child. Instead of dying you will merely fall into a deep sleep, and the castle shall join you, until your Prince comes and wakes you with a kiss."  
  
The Queen continued to sob, infant clutched to her breast. "Can you do no more?" the King questioned pleadingly.  
  
"No. I must go now." And with that the the faeries left, leaving with them their gifts, and a curse that could not be undone.  
  
The celebrations of the nations ended abruptly after the young Prince's christening. The King sent guards into the towns and villages to destroy all the swords, and prevent the curse from ever befalling his son.  
  
Zechs grew up to be a bright, happy boy. There were many that came from far and wide to gaze upon the remarkable beauty of the Prince. And beyond even the Prince's physical beauty they marveled at his kindness and his sweet nature. There were, of course, many very generous marriage offers. The King and Queen refused them all, of course.  
  
The Prince was known far and wide for more than his remarkable beauty, however. His beauty was rivaled only by his mischievous sense of humour. It must be said int he Prince's defense that he never harmed anyone so his pranks were viewed with little more than resigned amusement.  
  
And as young Zechs grew his father decided that it was time for him to begin learning the art of statecraft. It was then discovered that Zechs had an amazing gift for understanding people and making them understand him. He became more and more involved, helping his father with the running of the country.  
  
And thus the gifts of the faeries' were witnessed. And as these gifts were revealed the Queen began to worry that the curse would also be fulfilled.  
  
"What happens now?" the Queen cried one night to her husband. "What if the curse comes true, no matter what we do?"  
  
"Nothing will happen to our dear Zechs, my dear," the King soothed. "All the swords in the kingdom have been destroyed. Zechs won't be able to even find a sword. The curse will never be fulfilled."  
  
On the night of Zechs' sixteenth birthday celebration the entire kingdom rejoiced while those who had been present when the witch Relena had cursed their prince worried. What would become of their dear Prince?  
  
The pile of gifts was so high that it would take the young Prince a month to open all of them. Gifts from all over the country had been pouring into the palace for the last couple of weeks and even the Queen was in high spirits.  
  
Throughout the night the King was presented with several offers of marriage, all of which were refused. After all, their son did not need to make a powerful marriage alliance so who he married was of little concern.  
  
Throughout the night Zechs was presented with several well crafted bows. Archery had become very popular sixteen years before and the Prince was a superb archer.  
  
Finally a gentle old woman presented Zechs with a long, flat, heavy box. Zechs opened the box with delight and lying on a cushion of velvet was a sword. Immediately the Prince tested the edge of this new weapon, he was a warrior after all, and collapsed.  
  
The old woman cackled her delight, her disguise melting away to reveal the witch Relena.  
  
"I have done it," she cried joyfully. "Even though you tried to stop me, I have done it. And now Prince Zechs is..." she was interrupted by the arrival of all four of the Prince's faery godparents.  
  
"Asleep," Heero finished. "I could not undo your curse, witch, but I could alter it. The Prince will sleep until his very own Prince Charming braved the forest surrounding this castle and awakens him with a kiss. And the castle shall sleep with him to that everything will be ready when he awakes."  
  
It was Quatre that made his way over to the sobbing Queen. "Do not worry, he will awaken. And when he does it will be to marry."  
  
She was too distraught to say anything, simply nodded, her hands still covering her face to hide her tears.  
  
And with that the castle was put into a deep sleep by the faeries, not to awaken until the Prince did.  
  
And one hundred years passed, for although many entered the forest none ever reached the Prince.  
  
One day a young Prince named Trieze reined his horse in at the edge of the forest. He, too, was ready to venture into the forest, and possibly to his death.  
  
"What do you believe you will deep inside that forest, child?" Trieze turned, startled, to find a young man with a long, brown braid.  
  
"I don't know," Trieze replied uncertainly. "I suppose I'm going to see if the rumours are really true."  
  
"Oh?" the young man questioned. "What rumours would those be?"  
  
Trieze laughed. "You mean you haven't heard?"  
  
"No. I don't get much company at my cottage in the woods. In fact, you're the first person I've seen in months."  
  
"Oh. Well, they say that the most beautiful Prince ever is asleep inside a castle in the middle of the forest, and that if you can wake him with a kiss you can marry him."  
  
"So you want to marry a beautiful prince?" Duo questioned.  
  
"Not only that, he's supposed to be witty and smart, and a brilliant politician. I have the feeling I was made for him."  
  
Duo smiled. "Then I wish you well, child."  
  
Trieze nodded gravely. "Thank you."  
  
And with that he rode off, into the dark and dangerous forest.  
  
"Do you think he's the one?" came a voice from behind Duo. It was Quatre.  
  
"I think so."  
  
Quatre sighed. "I hope so."  
  
Duo turned to look towards the forest. "So do I."  
  
Trieze allowed his horse to pick its own path through the forest. Instead of thinking about the high probability of getting lost he tried to focus on the Prince hidden away int he far off castle. His prince.  
  
He rode for what seemed like forever, letting his thoughts wander through various subjects. Anything but the reason he was in this dark forest, and the probability of getting lost. One because it distracted him, and the other because it scared the hell out of him.  
  
As the sun set the castle came into view, the sky a brilliant red background. A true mystical castle.  
  
Trieze took a deep breath and dismounted from his horse. He pushed the huge castle door open, listening to the hinges creak; they were badly in need of oil, but then no one had been around to oil them for the last 100 years.  
  
He walked through a huge room, everything covered with a thick layer of dust. His footsteps could be followed easily, they were like tracks in the snow.  
  
In the top tower there was a huge, four poster bed with cerulean hangings. This was it.  
  
Trieze took a deep breath and stepped up onto the platform on which the bed was sitting. He leaned forward and kissed those gentle lips.  
  
Almost immediately Zechs' eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes the same colour as the hangings.  
  
Zechs smiled. "What year is it? I feel as if I've been asleep forever!"  
  
"100 years after you fell under the curse of the witch Relena."  
  
"100 years?" Zechs asked, disbelieving tone of voice easy to recognize."  
  
"Yes, darling," Trieze smiled. "100 years. But now you're awake again and everything will be fine."  
  
"Yes," Zechs agreed. "it will. But I've got a lot of time to make up for." And with that Zechs smiled.  
  
And they lived happily ever after, as the couples of fairy tales often do. That is not to say that they didn't fight, call each other names, storm off, and complain. They did. But there love was greater than any of that, so they were able to truly live happily ever after.  
  
Fin. 


End file.
